quantitative and qualitative identification and the management condition of spent batteries and presenting of managing principals according to the environmental and health aspects.

Abstract

Itroductin: Due to migration to soil and groundwater resources, spent batteries and their heavy metal content are two major environmental concerns worldwide. the aim of this study is quantitative and qualitative identification and the management condition of spent batteries (household, automotive and industrial batteries) and presenting of managing principals according to the environmental and health aspects. Materials and methods: Initially, the total amount of batteries in Iran was obtained for the years of 2009-2015, using the quantities of production, import and export of batteries. then, based on the useful life of the batteries (2 years) and by using multilayer perceptron artificial neural network, the amount of spent batteries was estimated for the years 2011-2027. To measure the heavy metals in batteries, 15 types of batteries which were consumed and disposed to the landfill site of Tabriz (as the sample) were collected and digested according to the EPA Method 3050B. Finally, Heavy metal measurement was carried out by inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES). The current management condition (collection, storage, and disposal) of spent batteries in Tabriz and Ardabil cities (from among 31 provinces as representatives for the whole country) was checked using completion of checklists; site visits and walkthrough surveys (observation) and conversations with authorities. to determine spent batteries quantity in the MSW landfill in city of Tabriz, spent batteries entering to the landfill site was analyzed daily in a period of 31 days. Result: The results indicated that, the generation rate of spent batteries in Iran ranged from 131,739 to 273,342 ton per year from 2011 to 2016, respectively. Considering the Iranian population in this period, the corresponding per capita generation rate of spent batteries varies from 1.75 to 3.41 kg/year. Mercury was below detection limit in all analyzed batteries. The amounts of cadmium and lead in all batteries were lower than EU limits. Heavy metal content was much higher in rechargeable battery than the others. Currently, there is no program regarding to collection and recycling of spent household batteries, but automobile and industrial batteries are collected by retailers or manufacturers for recycling. The total battery weight at the recycling plant was 12.258 kg, which represented a very small percentage of the total input waste (0.00028%). 75.5% and 24.5% of all batteries analyzed at the landfill site were AA-sized and mobile phone batteries, respectively. No automobile battery found in landfill site. Conclusion. Currently, the collecting and disposal of spent household batteries is being carried out with municipal solid waste stream, which can impose great health and environmental concerns. According to the results of this study and current condition and also waste management hierarchy, first, the production of spent batteries should be reduced through management and technical measures. Then, the necessary funds must be provided to prepare suitable equipment and facilities for the suitable collecting and recycling of spent batteries in Iran. Furthermore, by adopting laws and monitoring, Landfilling of spent batteries must be banned and the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system, must be implemented for their management.